HOUSTON – As electric bikes and scooters become more popular among teenagers, doctors are warning families about the risk of serious injuries, especially traumatic brain injuries.
One Houston-area teen knows those dangers firsthand.
Halle Neely was riding her electric scooter without a helmet when she crashed, suffering a severe head injury that required emergency brain surgery.
“I was riding my scooter without a helmet and I guess when I was turning, I slammed my head really hard on my right side,” Halle said.
Her mother, Heather Neely, said the impact was immediate and severe.
“You can tell she didn’t have time to brace herself for impact. It was straight... like she went straight onto her head,” Heather said.
Halle’s family rushed her to a local emergency room before she was flown by Life Flight to the Texas Medical Center.
After multiple CT scans, doctors discovered bleeding in her brain.
Dr. Peter Yang, a pediatric neurosurgeon with UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann, performed the surgery that saved Halle’s life.
Yang said Halle’s case is one of many serious head injuries he has treated involving electric scooters and bikes.
According to Yang, a common factor in many of those cases is that riders were not wearing helmets.
“The overwhelming evidence that we have in our experience and our anecdotal experiences is that helmets are protective of the brain and the skull,” Yang said.
Doctors say traumatic brain injuries can range from mild concussions to life-threatening emergencies that require surgery and lengthy recovery periods.
Fortunately, Yang said Halle made a full recovery and is not expected to experience long-term effects from her injury.
Now, Halle and her family are sharing their story in hopes of preventing similar accidents.
They want other riders to understand that wearing a helmet can make the difference between life and death.
Medical experts encourage parents to ensure children wear properly fitted helmets whenever riding electric scooters, e-bikes, bicycles, skateboards or other wheeled devices.
For Halle and her family, the message is simple: a helmet could save your life.